S6, E1 The Bridge House Theatre | Fringe theatre

In this episode, we meet with Luke and Ellie from the award‑winning Bridge House Theatre, one of South East London’s most exciting Off‑West‑End venues. Based above the historic Bridge House pub, the theatre has become a vibrant creative hub known for intimate productions, bold programming, and a strong commitment to emerging and under-represented voices.

Luke and Ellie share the story behind the theatre’s evolution, its community‑driven ethos, and how the pub‑theatre setting shapes its warm, collaborative atmosphere. They discuss their passion for championing new writing, supporting local talent, and creating a space where artists can take risks and audiences can experience storytelling up close.

We explore the theatre’s artistic vision, its role in the South London arts scene, and the importance of nurturing inclusive, accessible spaces for creativity. 
Episode recorded on the 23 February 2026. 

Website: thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk
Instagram: @pengetheatre
X: @PengeTheatre

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Transcript

Welcome to Series six of Artist Tales. There are 10 episodes featuring a wonderfully diverse set of artists from very different backgrounds, all creating some amazing artwork with very different stories to tell. 

In this episode of Artist Tales. I'm joined by Luke Adamson and Ellie Ward. The artistic director and executive director of the Bridge House Theatre. This small but fiercely ambitious venue has become a South London home for bold storytelling and community center performances. Under Luke and Ellie's leadership, it has grown into a space where emerging voices are championed.

Local audiences are welcomed with genuine warmth. An independent theatre is encouraged to take creative risks. Welcome, Luke Elli. Good evening. Hi. It was wonderful having you on this podcast because you're actually my local fringe theatre. You both end and the venue, you know, not far from me. So could you tell me a bit more about yourself and, and the theatre itself?

Absolutely. Well, if Ellie doesn't mind, I'll, I'll kick off 'cause uh, I took over running the theatre at the Bridge House in Pen in 2021. Before that I'd been the associate director up at the Hope Theatre in Islington, and I was aware of the theatre at, at the Bridge House, but I, I'd never really, it seemed to be a little bit inconsistent.

And then I discovered during the, one of the COVID Lockdowns that the previous management of the theatre were moving on. And it was guy, the, the previous artistic director put me in touch with the managers of the pub, and I came in and sort of. Made a proposal to them and said that, you know, this is, um, what I'd like to do.

This is my vision for a, a fringe theatre. Very much running in the way that the Hope ran when I was there. And I wanted it to have a, you know, a focus on under-represented voices, a voice that are traditionally under-represented in the arts. And we sort of came to an agreement that we'd give it a go and we gave it a go.

In 2021 and we're still here and we're thriving and Ellie joined the team in 2020. What year are we now? 2024. Is it You joined the team? You, you came to us in 2024. Yeah, so I had, I'd written a play and sent it to Luke at the Bridge House in 2024. Um, and the play ended up premiering at the Bridge House in November, 2024.

And by coincidence, I'd moved to the area shortly before, just as the autumn 2024 season was starting. And I, I don't know, you'll have to ask Luke, but my, my theory is he just could not get rid of me because I fell in love with, it was down all the time, watching absolutely everything. Then I had my show on and then went to go and watch the, the Amazing pantomime over Christmas and was on my way out, and Luke said to me, oh, can we, can we catch up and have a chat?

I was like, God, what did I break when we were there? And um, and then. Luke asked me to to come on board initially as programming assistant because the programming assistant at the time was moving on. Um, and then shortly afterwards, associate director. So that's how I came on board. So it sounds like it's been a kind of fairly big project since you took it over Luke, and, you know, Ellie, you seemed to be kind of fast moving into, you know, being involved, which is excellent.

I mean, I know I've, I know that theatre for, because it's been running for some time and it seems to be quite well established. So, Ellie and I were chatting a little bit before we started recording and you know, it sounds like it's just building up, building up, building up. So it seems like it's from strength, going from strength to strength.

So could you tell me a bit more about that? Well, we certainly like to think it's going from strength to strength. We are, we, we, we were sort of lucky in that we took it over sort of on the back of a pandemic because. We had nothing to compare it to. I know sort of people that were running venues pre pandemic during pandemic and post pandemic.

They can compare what their audiences were like pre pandemic. But we sort of had a clean slate when we took over to really put our stamp on the place. And so we, you know, we sort of, we renovated the, the theatre space, um, fresh seating, lighting a new rig, and we, for the first. Six months or so when once we'd reopened, we took over in the February reopened to the public in the September of 2021.

And so for the first sort of six months or so, we could really take programming risks and, and go, well, we'll try that, see what happens. We'll try that, see what happens. And we always wanted from the start to be. The, the most welcoming fringe theatre you would find, both for the audiences and for, uh, the companies coming in, doing the shows.

And I think that stood as in good stead because we have so many companies that come back to work with us again and again and again, which is great because they bring good work. And so when you, when you find companies and artists that are making good quality work, you want them to come back and you want them to have a good time and want to come back.

And as we got into our stride. We, we found we're getting lots of submissions. You know, we would never just take any old show like it has to fit our, um, programming policy. And even within that, you get so many submissions that you go, okay, which ones are we gonna choose? How do we balance a season? And.

We're in a position now where we're getting such good quality submissions. We're getting really good shows coming to us. The, the word is getting out about the quality of what we do, and we've got so many people that we see again and again and again coming to see the shows. We've got our membership scheme that's constantly growing, which is really nice.

And our work is being recognized. You know, we're winning awards for the shows. We're winning awards. We at the London Pub Theatre Awards back in October last year, we won accommodation for excellence 'cause of our sort of community outreach, the stuff we do specifically for the people of pen and the surrounding areas.

So it's really nice that the work is being noticed, not just locally, but on a, on a bigger scale as well. And how are the audience reacting to performances? And I'm kind of looking at both of you actually. And Ellie, I know you've written some plays for the theatre as well, so I'm kind of directing the question to both of you really Well.

We're always thrilled with. The, with the reactions that we get from really loyal audiences. I know we were speaking before, weren't we, Heather, about how we're so lucky because we do have such a loyal crowd that come back time and time again and a and huge range of, of demographics from literally a tiny children and babies that come and watch the pantomime right up until older demographics and all within that range.

Um, and I think from my perspective, since I've joined. I've seen a real kind of increase in the variety of shows that we're able to program. I mean, in, in this season alone, there really is gonna be something for everybody from plays about the situation with kind of county lines and gang violence in, in schools in South London, um, capitalism and gentrification.

Another play about our attitudes to to pregnancy. We're able to grow our audiences because there really is something for everybody there. In my own personal experience of writing it, I mean, I've always been absolutely thrilled with the way that the theatre just kind of support, sort of post show discussion, the community that we build.

So people will approach the creatives involved in the shows and, and we can speak about how we made it and everybody feels really involved. In, in terms of the creatives that we work with, we like to think about, we always talk about being the Bridge House family, and people will come back and work with us time and time again.

And if you've been in a show with us, the chances are you'll be back to do something. And if we, if anybody needs anything, probably we know somebody that can, that can do that. So we're a family, we're a community, and we're constantly growing. So obviously we hope that. Audiences like the shows and we'll react to the shows, but really, it, it's for them that we do it.

Yeah, absolutely. I think jumping in on that, that family thing, we, we really do take that seriously both amongst the, the creatives but also amongst the audiences. Um, and for both Ellie and I, it's important that we are present in the theatre. You know, we are the faces of the Bridge House Theatre. Well, me, Ellie, Ann, and Dusty of course, and people see us and they know us.

And the wonderful front of house team that we have, and Tom, our technical associate, people that come regularly to the Audi, uh, to the theatre. Uh, getting to know us and they will see us in the, in the bar before a show or after a show and, and come and speak to us. And because they know us, they feel a bit more like they have some kind of relationship with the space, a bit of sense of ownership of the space.

And that's exactly as we want it to be. We, we want people to be able to approach us and say, oh, I really liked. Such and such a show, or, oh, I'm gutted. I missed x, y, Z show. And our recent season launch is a great example of people from the local area that just came along, you know, just to learn about what was coming up and, and to meet me and, and Ellie in person.

And, you know, I learned a lot of names of people that I recognize their faces and I could finally put a name to a face and, and vice versa. People are like, oh, you know, we, we, we've seen you around or. We knew that Luke was the artistic director and Ellie was the associate director, but we didn't know who you were.

But now we do. And that sort of personal touch is important to us as well. We're not just some faceless sort of management team that sit in an office and, you know, we care about it. And I think that comes across to our audiences and they care about us in return. And I think that's so important because, you know, if, if you go to the West End or some of the bigger theatres.

It's not practical for, for that level, you know, of intimacy maybe, or, or that community level, you know, and it's a very different experience and okay, you probably do have a different, you know, expectation because it's a bigger performance, but is that making it personal, making it the community that sounds like, you know, people really react to that and sort of, you know, want to engage and want to support you.

Absolutely, and I, I took my cues very much from uh, a chap called Damien Cruden, who was the artistic director at York Theatre Royal, and his belief and his stressing the importance of community, he was very much. Visible and the, you know, regular audience members knew him and members of the youth theatre knew him.

And, and he was this, this figure that built this wonderful community. So I'm very much, I mean, he's the reason I got into acting in the first place. Um, and I very much want to build at the bridge house something similar to the, to what they had there. And I think it's, it's, it's really starting to pay dividends and it's, it's lovely to meet so many people and to be able to.

Call people friends now that I only met because of, because of the theatre. I was just about to say, I've got so many friends and just jumping off the back of what, what Luke said about how Damien really, um, inspired him to work in theatre, I think, I mean, I've been inspired by lots of people, but I guess what I feel, and I think probably I, I speak for Luke as well here, is that we want to be the people that say yes.

Because this industry is so full of, no, no, you can't do this. You can't do that either. I mean, I've experienced that as all creatives have throughout my childhood and career, that there'll be a reason why you can't, and we want to find the reason why you can, you know, if you are a great person, if you're creative, if you've got ideas.

If you want to make a difference socially to the community, if you've got a good head on your shoulders, then we want you to be part of the family and we want to help you do what you want creatively. Or if not being, being part of the audience, come and, well, I guess your friend, either way, aren't you?

Yeah, hon. Honestly, I I, I've lost count of the amount of times now that I found myself omewhere. I mean, even just the other day I was out for a drink with a huge group of friends and I was thinking how. I met you through the bridge house 'cause you came to watch my show and then now you've, and, and really honestly, genuine friendships have been made and I, and I know that's the same Luke.

I can imagine that's quite important for the o for the other side as well of Ah, yes, you're my friend from the bridge house. You know what I'm also hearing is, I guess two things. And as Luke you said earlier that. When you're trying pull together a season, you're getting a lot of stuff through and you're trying to balance sort of the, the season with different voices, I guess.

And different opportunities. Different experiences, but also picking up with what Ellie said about saying yes. And to me, I'm hearing what you're trying to do is create opportunities for people because. I think like, and it's, I don't think it's just theatre. I think there's a lot in the arts world where it's a no, you know, you can, you're not good enough, you know, you're not good enough in quotes.

You're not this or you're not that. You're not fitting whatever the scheme, and I don't know. It sounds like it's really important for you guys to create those opportunities for people to break into the industry. Absolutely. The the first thing we said when myself and my previous business partner took over at the theatre.

Because we came from a background of making our own work. We wanted to be the theatre that got rid of all the hidden obstacles and barriers and hurdles that we'd faced as theatre makers. Because there's, I mean, the, the, there probably are courses that you can do now that you have to pay a lot of money to go and do, to learn how to get your work from idea to performance.

But when, certainly when we were starting out, it was. Very much like, we are just doing this. We're, we're getting on with it. We've got a script, we've got an idea, we've got a keen cast. Let's do it. And so we are very much like when a company comes to us, they might be fresh outta drama school or university.

They might be a group of friends that have come together that are doing something. And what they've got is a really great show. They've got no idea how to do marketing or lighting design or sound design or anything like that. So we, you know, we've got a few years experience of that. We are going to make it possible for them to do the show without having to stress about those kind of things.

In removing those, those roadblocks in, in saying, don't worry about what you don't know. Bring us what you do know. And what you do know is the creative stuff. What you do know is, is your show. And you know, there are times that we have to sort of turn around and say. This piece isn't quite right for us.

You know, if it doesn't fit the programming criteria or if we feel a, a script perhaps needs a bit more development before we could program it, and we always try to be. Constructive in that respect. I mean, one thing that we're very keen on is we will always get back to anybody that emails us one way or another.

Uh, it's unfortunately sort of endemic in our industry that you put a lot of time and effort into creating something, whether it's going for an audition, uh, writing a submission, going for an interview, anything like that, and then you just never hear anything and it's so disrespectful and we make it a point that we will always get back.

To people, and even if it's, we feel the show isn't the right fit for us at this point, we will explain that that is the case, rather than just leaving people not knowing what's going on. But part of the joy is taking chances on these enthusiastic new companies or young companies that have, you know, the, the makings of a brilliant show, but are taking their first steps and they're, you know, quite tentative.

The joy is getting behind 'em and going, yes, okay. What do you want? Let's do it. It's exciting for us. It's exciting for them. We are not there to say, oh, well you can't do this and you can't do that. Where's the fun in that? Creativity is about experimenting and what I always say when we have meetings with with potential companies.

Is we want to be a place where you can take creative risks without taking financial risks. And that's the main thing, is that sort of that financial barrier that so many artists face. Um, if we can say, look, we're doing it on a box office, split in your favor. The more tickets we sell, the more everyone benefits.

We are invested in selling the show. You are invested in selling the show. No money changes hands up front. We're not charging you a higher fee. It's not. We get our money, Bish Bash Bosch. We're done, we're happy. We don't care how the show does, like some fringe venues operate. We are invested and we're invested in making the shows as good as they can be.

You know, it's very often I am there during the get ins and the technical rehearsals and the dress rehearsal, and if I feel that I can offer something in a creative capacity to elevate the show, then I'll do that. And the same with with Ellie. She sit and watch rehearsals and things and offer feedback because it benefits everybody in the long run.

And I learned my technical skills from, you know, being around other people while they were doing it, and certainly other people have, have learn from, from being around me while I'm doing it. Tom, our technical associate now, he, you know, has, has learned from working with me on, on shows in the past and now feels comfortable running a tech session himself and quite often goes now and, and freelances as a technician elsewhere and.

He's learned that from, from doing it on the job. And creatives as well will learn, they'll expand their horizons and pick up skills and things that they didn't necessarily have by doing it, by being creative, by bringing a show, not through, having to pay a load of money out to go and do a course. So I, I've witted on for ages there, but I think that's it, sort of it, it is about opening those gates, if you like, rather than throwing up obstacles.

If, if I had to sum up the last rabbiting minutes that I've just done. No, I think it's, what you said is well said. And you know, the thing things coming up from me are, you're not gatekeeping, you're encouraging, and it touches on something that Ellie and I were chatting about before we started recording in terms of, you know, probably more often in, in fringe theatre you have these opportunities to experiment, to be, to try new things, to push the boundaries, you know, because some of the West End mainstream ones.

They perhaps have bigger costs or there are things that they have to play a little bit, perhaps a bit more safe. So it's really quite refreshing to have a setting in an organization where it's like, yeah, let's try something. Let's push those boundaries. And it's quite exciting, you know, I think both for you, the people you know, regardless if they're new or a bit more experienced, and also audiences.

Absolutely. And, and should, that's the way it should be in, in my mind. Uh, anyway. I'm not interested in seeing another musical adaptation of an eighties film. Personally, what I am interested is some really exciting new writing that examines, you know, the, the life that we are living and the challenges we face, and the joys of what we do, and.

And so because we, we've got a space and the Bridge House covers so lovely and so supportive of what we do, that we've got a space that we can take those risks and it's amazing as well, just from my point of view, what you can learn just from being in the space, not whether it's from, from Luke or anybody else.

Not even probably intentionally saying something that's taught me, taught me, but I feel like I've learned so much about myself as a creative. Just from watching other people work and thinking, oh, I could do that. And, and hopefully our, our community feel the same way. And, and it's not just the shows as well, it's, it's the other kind of sides of what we do.

We've, we work with two brilliant actresses, uh, Sarah Finnegan and Katie Morgan, who runs something called Off the Page, which is every other month, and they will. Bring along local professional actors, really, really amazing actors to read a new piece of work, whether that's for stage, screen, or radio.

There'll be an invited audience. No, not invite. There'll be a, it'll be open to the public and, um, they'll do feedback forms and listen to the play being read, and. The writer will be invited to ask them specific questions about whatever it is that they need to take their work to the next stage and the next level.

Quite often, I, I don't know if this would be Luke, correct me if I'm wrong on this, but quite often work that's come through off the page will then come to us when it's been developed a little bit further. That's definitely happened. Yeah. And yeah, but also gone on to, to even. Hmm. Shows that have been developed through as part of their development.

They've done off the page, they've gone on at the Hampsted theatre, or they've gone on be commissioned at the BBC and, and things like that. So it, it's a vital thing again, at no cost to the, the right, the writer of these scripts. It's, it's a kind of thing that they get a bit of free feedback and, and the audience could pay what they decide based on their own financial situation or what they thought of the play and things like that.

So it, it is another opportunity for development, for learning, for growth, which I think is, yeah, it's, it is a vital thing that we've done. I'm, I'm really pleased that early on in, in the Bridge House journey, Katie and Sarah came to, came to us and said, you know, we're a couple of local creatives. Can we do this?

And my mantra, yes. And it's still, why not? Let's give it a go. Sorry. A. No, no. I'm just gonna add that we've got a youth theatre as well that do shows in the space, so they get the opportunity to work with the tech, with the sound, with the lights. Uh, we also do. Workshops. And I think just like Luke was saying, anybody that's got an idea, anybody that's wanting to work proactively and creatively, you know, if we can do it, obviously inevitably there's times where we, we can't, for whatever practical reason there might be, but we want to invite all these people in just like Luke did.

And I'm glad you've been that. 'cause I was gonna ask you about. Luke, you mentioned earlier about the community sort of outreach, and I presume that's probably part of the community outreach part of things. And from what I'm hearing, it sounds like some of these schemes are quite important, you know, particularly in the early development of people's careers or even young people, to get that experience, that opportunity.

Because I think growing up, you know, in my mind it's really important for young people to try new things, to try things, even if they don't necessarily pursue them. You know, they've had that experience and you never know, a, they could come back to it or what skills they're picking up that they're gonna take elsewhere in their life.

And I think it's those kind of life skills for everybody, really. But also, the other thing that keeps popping up in my mind with some of these schemes and some of the work you're doing is networking. You know, it's that exposure. It's that, you know, not only exposure with your young person or starting out in your career, but kind of.

Getting that feedback, meeting people, getting exposure for your work and that sort of thing, and, you know, how important is that, do you think, for people in the industry and people trying to break into theatre and, and the performing arts? I think, uh, I think it's very important. The, the, the, you know, they do always say it's not what you know, it's who you know.

And I'm trying to sort of move away from that. It doesn't matter if you know me, if you've got a good, good idea or a good show or whatever, then let's work together. But, um, it it, it's the connections you make. And I think a perfect example of that is we work with, uh, a company called British Touring Shakespeare.

They've been coming to us once a year since we opened with their gothic adaptation. They always do. Over the summer, they tour outdoors. They do a Shakespeare and they do an adaptation of a gothic story novel novella, and they've been bringing their shows to us every year since we opened. There's another company called Stagedoor that we've worked with a lot and um, they've recently just done the legacy of William Island with us and they're another fantastic company.

And through being at the Bridge House and. The being part of the Bridge House community, the director from British touring Shakespeare found out that he had a lot in common with the writer of a lot of the stage door shows. And so in, in the season, this season, we've got a collaboration between ourselves, stage Door and British touring Shakespeare.

We're working that, you know, we're all working together on a big three week run. Another thing that came out of it was, uh, pen West was this ridiculous idea that. Tim, the writer from Stage Door and Johnny Hanscomb that runs Good Wolf People, which is a local community theatre company. So that's, um, people that have full-time jobs and do the acting as a, as a an evening thing or a part-time thing.

They do shows based on local sort of history. We have the a hundred year old letter, they're doing a show about, um, Joseph Paxton coming up, but Johnny that runs Good Wolf and Tim came up with this idea of doing a theatre, soap, opera opera, and. We, we made it work. It was a crazy idea, but we, we threw it out to local actors and went, if you want to get involved in this absolutely ridiculous notion of a continuing narrative over multiple nights, across a three week period, let us know.

And there's a part for everybody who wants apart. And we've had, we must have had 30, 40 odd actors all involved in Pen West at some point. Because people think it's an absolutely mad idea and it's a lot of fun, and it, it's become this weird sort of cult hit. And, um, we did, uh, series one, if you like, in in July last year, June last year.

And it went so well that for the final show we were pretty much sold out. We did the finale episode and it was sold out. So we thought we'd better bring it back as a Christmas episode. We did a Christmas special. That sold out in like October, so we had to add a second performance of the Pen West Christmas special on the same night that also sold 30 odd tickets in our 50 seat theatre, and now we're bringing it back for season two.

And it, it just, it came out of a lot of creative people just being in the same space in the bar after a show or before a show, and supporting each other's shows and having creative conversations and coming up with. New creative ideas and you know, Ellie touched on the youth theatre and the work we do with the youth theatre and they get to do a performance in the space.

And Lauren, one of our, uh, youth theatre PR practitioners, I had a meeting with her the other day because she's got a lot of experience working with really early years children. So we're now looking at starting, uh, something weekly for parents or child minders or nannies that are. That have toddlers sort of not, well maybe not, not years old, but certainly sort of up to sort of four or five years old before they start school and how they can experience creativity, drama, all that kind of stuff in, in the theatre space.

Because, you know, like you said, Heather, it, it, it's not necessarily meaning that they're gonna go on to have a career in theatre, but it's, it's wonderful for. Expression for communication, for developing empathy and sympathy and, and emotional development. And we've had Artie, he's another local professional theatre maker that has run clown workshops.

And anything that we can do like that to say, come and explore, come and play, even if it's not because you want to do it professionally. It, it's a big, it's a big part of, of what it means to be human, I suppose. If we can open up a space and, and let people come and do the, you know, clown workshops, even though they're not, they've got no intention of ever being a professional clown, but they want to come and play.

They want to come and engage in the arts, engage with the arts in a different way. I think it's really, it's really exciting to see that there is an appetite for that around our area. And the, I, I'm not aware certainly of anywhere else that offers something similar to neither. Fair enough. I was saying to Ellie before we were, we were recording that and I'm starting to get it more into the Fringe theatre and you know, I do find the Bridge House theatre quite unique in, in what you're describing, which is wonderful.

And you know, also what I'm hearing is particularly for young people making theatre accessible because sometimes it can be seen as something very stuffy and it's like, you know, hush hush, be quiet. Whereas actually it's kind of fun. It's a fun place to be. But also I think you're touching on very human things of storytelling, creativity, playfulness, play, artistic.

So all those things are kind of coming up really from both of you to be fair. So, yeah, I mean, it sounds like quite an exciting program that you have and I, I love the pen West, um, and I'm definitely gonna have to come to one of the performances, if not more. Once you start though, you won't be able to start.

No, no. Which is a good thing. It doesn't mean you shouldn't come, but you'll be back for again and again. And what are they doing this time and what's gonna happen? This time we're writing it slightly differently and there's gonna be a, a writer's room and different members of the team are gonna write different episodes.

So who knows anything could happen. And that's the, that's the beauty of being creative, isn't it? It's exactly what I was gonna say, Heather. It's the beauty of, of getting creative minds together and everybody takes something different from it. And yeah, it, it. There's something buzzy about the space, if you know what I mean.

When people get in there and they feel inspired, and like our panto for example, we, before the, the panto opens to the public, we have a number of performances just for schools, groups or for, we had the local scouts or the local cadets, and it's just great to get kids in to experience something like that.

The, you know, well for the teachers it's an afternoon where they can come and sit in the dark and not worry about what the kids are doing. But also for kids, it's, it's such a different experience being in a space like ours to being in a space like the Churchill in Bromley, the way you are miles away from a stage and you are told very much, like, be quiet.

And we do like 'em to be quiet at certain points, but also it's a really great opportunity for them to engage with something that's different, something that's. Outta their normal sort of daily routine. And I always say that Panto is the gateway drug. I got into theatre through seeing a panto, um, and I know many other people did as well.

And so to get them into their local pub theatre, their local fringe theatre, to see something that's interactive and fun and colourful and imaginative and full of music and comedy. All of this kind of stuff. It just, it excites people and it wakes something up perhaps in people that, that they don't get stimulated elsewhere.

And I, I, I kind of wish we could do a longer run of the panto and, and because it, you know, once we open to the public this year, it actually sold so well. We are going to do a longer run when it comes to the panter at the end of this year. And we got feedback actually from, um. A chap called Will. He's the writer of one of the shows that's coming to us later this season who lives locally, and he said that he's got kids at a local school and their parents' group chat was going crazy with people talking about how good the panto was at the Bridge house.

And we, you know, take the panto quite seriously. I certainly do, I write it every year. Like I, I want it to be good. I want it to be better than what you'd see at the, the Churchill or what you'd see at Fairfield Halls in Croydon or, because I think. Like I said, panto is the gateway. It's the most important thing.

If you get that right, people will have an engagement with the arts, hopefully for a lifetime. I am an acting coach, and when I coach young people, I feel exactly the same way as I do about any young person that engages with the Bridge House, whether that's through Panto Mind, that's through youth theatre or through Lauren's work.

That's the, it doesn't really matter whether anybody goes on to do it professionally or not, but I mean, there's so much evidence that kind of engagement with the arts in some way, like I mean specifically as an audience member, that improves kind of physical and mental health outcomes, and I think you're so much more likely to be an engaged audience member.

If you feel included in that and you can understand the process and you've got some level of experience of being there immediately in front of people, with people in front of you showing you how it works and having had an experience of being part of that process yourself. Um, and therefore, hopefully through the work that we're doing, I hope anyway, that we will get more and more engaged audience members that feel.

Really included in what we do. Again, just building the family, uh, because that we would be nothing without our audiences. I think we're in the business as of growing audiences as much as we are, and I think, I think so important, you know, particularly, and I hate to say this, and particularly in today's world where so many things are being cut, including arts programs.

Mm-hmm. You know, or even funding to arts generally. When I grew up, I was very fortunate to have access, you know, and par my parents were able to, to pay for, let's say, music lessons or that sort of thing. One thing I didn't grow up with coming from Canada was pantomimes or panto and Yes, you know, thankfully went to school where we did go to see theatre, but it, and they kind of adjusted it a little bit knowing their audience.

So it was a bit of, you know, they kind of kept it interesting for us. My first pantomime was when I first moved here many years ago. And it was up to Hackney Empire and I thought it was the most wonderful thing I ever saw in my life. It was so much fun. And you know, my friends and I were a bit older and I, I'm like, you know, this is, this is great.

Like, it just engages people both and the way it's written. It's both for young people and adults. It's not just for young people, you know, even adults can, you know, there's subtle subtleties to it that adults can get that just kids don't. And that's the absolutely the beauty of pantomime, isn't it?

Absolutely. I'm so passionate about it. I got, I got, like I said, I got into theatre through Panto and it, it, it, it is a sort of a uniquely British thing I think. And it does appeal to everyone and, and I take so much care in writing our pantos because I want the adults to enjoy it as much as the kids. I'm not hugely keen on too much rudeness or innuendo, which I know a lot of pantomimes, um, sort of thrive on.

And certainly I've heard reports, people that have been to some real big. Big budget pantomimes and come back and gone. It was just filth. It was just like the, the kids really didn't know what was going on. I'm an an advocate of, everybody should laugh at the same joke. The adults will laugh for one reason.

The kids will laugh for another reason, but everybody's laughing at the joke. If you've got a joke that only the adults are laughing at, and the kids are going, why are you laughing? That doesn't work for me. The kids should be laughing for one reason. The adults should be laughing for another. What I've found especially is that silliness can be funny for everyone.

And when you bring that, that silliness, that joy into, into people's lives, especially like at Christmas time, that it, it really helps to unite people and it, it is like no other art form pantomime. It really is. And you know, we're, we're blessed to be able to present a, a program that. You know, in includes quite a lot of different art forms, dramas, musicals, comedy, drag, you know, physical theatre.

We've got a bit of everything. And, and, and Panto plays such a, a vital role in that, that when we took over the bridge house, I was like, I want to make that our sort of flagship thing. Every Christmas we do a panto. In a 50 seat room above a pub, and we've won awards for a panto, and I'm incredibly proud, proud of that.

It's good it's being recognized as well, not just the pantomime, but the, the theatre itself. It, it, it, it is lovely that, you know, we do work. I'm not gonna pretend we don't work hard. We do work hard. And so when, you know, like the, the Fringe Theatre Awards or the. Stage Players UK or the London Pub Theatre Awards recognize the work that we're doing.

'cause we're up against some big hitters in, in these things. Like when we won Pantomime of the Year for our Jack and the Bean stock a few years ago, we were finalists alongside, I think it was the theatre, Royal Plymouth, who have a much bigger budget. I'm sure I don't need to explain that. Um, they have a much bigger budget, a much bigger cast.

Yet the, the judges decided that actually what we'd done, what we'd produced with four actors in a room above a pub was, you know, the best of that they saw that year. So, you know, I suppose part of the challenge for us is, is getting the word out that, look, look what we're doing is good and that takes time and that takes effort and that takes, you know, word of mouth and all this kind of stuff.

But when, when we do get that recognition, I'm sure it is. And really nice, you know, it's great that you're getting recognized as well and I think that getting, you know, and I'm sure too you getting that word out, I think it's a challenge for no matter what you do, you know, is getting that exposure. So my very last question, what's on the horizon?

Where are you looking to to work towards or, or what are you trying to achieve in the next, I don't know, year, two years? You know, what's on the horizon? Uh, everything, everything. So we, I mean, we've got the, the, the spring season has just launched the spring summer season. We're, you know, fully programmed up to the start of August.

We always go dark in August. Um, but actually what we're planning this year is. Uh, in August in, instead of having shows on, I'd like to do a month of workshops. So, um, Artie has done his Klan workshops before. It'd be great to get them back. Lauren does work with using arts and drama for people with, uh, mental health challenges or for specifically, uh, LGBTQ plus people or people from that have had difficult.

Living circumstances. So we're gonna explore that. We've got people that are interested in running, uh, script writing workshops and, and various other things. So my, my plan at the moment is that August will become a month of workshops for the public, for people to come and engage with. Not necessarily, they're not aiming for a performance or for a finished product of anything.

It's just about, again, engaging with creativity in some way that is beneficial. We, we are already quite programmed for the autumn season. We're, we're getting very close to, to finalizing every show in the autumn season. We are returning, the panto is returning. We're gonna do, and this is, this is the first time I'm saying it publicly.

This year we're going to do, uh, Robin Hood as the pantomime and, and as always it will have the Bridge House theatres very unique. Take on it. Um, I'm not gonna reveal what that is just yet, but it will be certainly not like any Robin Hood that's ever been seen. Uh, certainly not that I've ever seen. And then this is something I've been toying with for a while, for the spring season next year, I would really like to do and Ellie's terrible because she encourages me in this respect.

I get these ideas and then people say, yeah, do it. Um, and when maybe we shouldn't, uh, is to do a, like an old school repertory season where we have a company of actors, company of professional actors that are contracted for a length of time and we do a number of shows with, uh, the same cast. Or, you know, members of a company that we have for that period of time, rotating the shows, rotating directors, and for a few months we have that company that do four, five, whatever it is, different productions.

It, it's pie in the sky at the moment because that takes money and it takes a lot of, uh, organization, um. But I, I, I really want to do it because, you know, I read so much about the Glory Days of Repertory theatre and I, although I never did it, I miss it. So that's, that's my hope rather than a plan. That's my hope for something to stro for.

And Ellie, watch the space. Any words for anything from you? Oh, you've got, you've got a show coming up from the seventh to the 18th of April. I've got a show, um, it's called the lls. We do, I'm trying to think what I can actually tell you about it without giving it away. It is hopefully, uh, gonna be an exciting, thrilling drama about two female spies played by the amazing Rebecca Pickering, who was Lady Box in the Diary of a Provincial lady and Mira Morrison, who I've worked with on a number of occasions at the Bridge House, but most recently in in yellow things last April.

And because it's me, it's gonna have a exciting feminist message. But it's also high stakes drama. Should have people on the edge of their seats. I'm not gonna tell you anymore, except to back to book tickets come along. Definitely, definitely. And I think, actually one thing I'd like to, to throw in here is, is something that Ellie's talked about with Diary of a Provincial Lady and, and something that Tim from Stage Door has mentioned.

It's the idea of audio drama and how. We can take things that have existed in a theatrical sense and they can have a future, live perhaps as a, as an audio drama or a podcast and, and record them with the actors and make them available online and things like that. And that's another thing that's potentially on the horizon, just sort of floating out there in the ether at the moment.

But certainly something that, you know, we might explore. That sounds really interesting. And you know, it was funny that you, you mentioned that because I haven't really ever until very recently really got, I just couldn't get into radio theatre or audio theatre until very recently and it's like, yeah, I, I really, it's a, it's a very different engagement, but I really enjoy it because [your imagination kind of fills in the visuals.

Absolutely. I think that the, the rise of the podcast has really helped with that. I remember when podcasts first came out, I was like, what is this? Why would, why would somebody want to sit down and, and listen to, you know, I'm just looking at the, the timer here, 45 minutes or whatever it is of, uh, people talking or whatever.

There's always been a history of radio drama on, on like BBC and stuff. But I'm so into my podcasts now and I love it, and every time I'm out walking the Bridge House theatre's Chief executive, dusty. I'm listening to a podcast, and I think people really are enjoying the fact that they can zone out from their commute or from the real world.

You know, I, I stick one on when I'm going to bed or if I'm in the bath or whatever else. And like you said, Heather, the imagination fills in the blanks. And, and sometimes that's more effective than anything you can do on film or anything you can do in a theatre space. So I think it's, it's a really exciting thing.

We've got a few shows that we've, we've done in the past that with some, you know, modifications and some adaptations would be, I think, really effective audio drama. And on that, I'd like to thank you both for being guests on my podcast. It's been wonderful speaking with you both. Thank you, Heather. It's been great to speak to you.

Pleasure, lovely to speak to you. For tuning into my conversation with Luke and the Bridge House Theatre shows how such a theatre can have such an impact on helping people's careers in theatre as well as on the local community. More information on the bridge houses is in the show notes. In the next episode, I'll be speaking with Sabas.

He's a photographer and mixed media artist who traces the intersections of memory identity in the Sri Lankan diaspora. You won't want to miss it.